Ask Away
by wolfrun1
Summary: Ask me a question. I'll give you my answer. It may not be what you want to hear, but don't tell me that. Let's just sit here and get lost in the thought of what truly makes us happy, and then, maybe, you'll find a reason to smile along with me. NaruSasu


"Hey, Naruto!" I walked out of the hospital just in time to catch him walking by.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan", he smiled widely, stopping midstep to wait for me. "How are you today?" He asked when I finally caught up.

"I'm fine…." I bit my lip, looking up at him now, I really wanted to ask him but….

"Sakura-chan…?" He raised an eyebrow at me. "What's that you're holding behind your back?"

I felt my face grow hotter and I hit him, "You don't ask a lady questions like that! Its none of your business anyways!"

"But—But I just wanted to know!" He rubbed his head. "You're so mean to me, Sakura-chan…."

Then why do you put up with it—I couldn't help wondering. Maybe….Maybe I do need to try that….

"Naruto," I pulled the magazine out from behind my back, "can I ask you a few questions?" I smiled, trying not to give anything away.

He narrowed his eye—crap, I think he's on to me! He tilted his head to the side, "What kind of questions?"

"Oh, n-nothing! Just some really simple, easy, little questions. Its kind of a survey thing that Ino showed me today. I took it and thought it was interestinng…." I turned away from him, "If you're not interested, I can go find somebody else. Maybe Lee—"

"No!" He jumped infront of me, "I mean, no, that's alright. I'll do it."

"Great, let's go sit down over there." We walked over to the nearest shop and took a seat. I opened the magazine to the page I'd marked, "OK, first question."

"OK."

"At the beginning of the day, you are already filled with thoughts of the other person: what he or she is doing, where he or she is, things like that. Who is this person?" I looked up at him, he was scratching his head. It actually kind of made me a little angry. He really has to _think_ about who he _thinks_ about? "…Well?"

"_Well_…Its actually a pretty tough question, Sakura-chan—I think of a lot of thing when I wake up: Sasuke, ramen, you, breakfast…Iruka-sensei, ero-senin, Kaka-sensei…."

I squeezed my hand into a fist, he thinks of me_ after_ ramen!? "But _who_ do you think of most? Morning, noon, night—whose on your mind the most?"

"Well, Sasuke, of course. You knew that, didn't you, Sakura-chan? You do it too, right? I'm…worried about him….After that whole Orochimaru thing, and now his brother…."

"Oh…." Well, that's one point Sasuke then, "Alright, next question...when something good or nice happens to you, you always think of how you must share this with him or her, be it a funny story or a moment of your triumph. Who is this person?"

"You, of coure, Sakura-chan. You, Iruka-sensei, and the old hermit are the ones I share everything with, Kaka-sensei too sometimes. I mean, sure, before you really started talking to me, I loved to go find Sasuke and rub my knowledge or power in his face. But I really like talking to you about stuff too."

…Who do I give that point to…? "But…if you could chose between me or Sasuke…?"

"I'd choose both. I will always want both of you to be here to hear how awesome I am, dattebayo!"

"…_Idiot_…."

"Are there anymore questions?"

"Yeah, uh, you always wish that he or she would be right there with you, but even if he or she isn't, it's okay because you know that soon you will be together and you anticipate that. No moment, no matter how dull it seems is ever a wasted moment. Every minute counts when you're with that person."

He started chuckling, "didn't I just answer that question? You Sakura-can. You and Sasuke. Every minute—every second really—that I've ever spent with either of you is time that I wouldn't give up for anything. And, I know for a fact that Sasuke will be back one day. He'll be back and he'll never leave us again. We'll all be happy, you can count on that…."

"You start thinking more about what would be good for the other person," I continued, "than what would be good for you. Your ultimate happiness is to be able to make that other person happy, whether it is with you or with another person."

"Sasuke…."

"But…" I know this is so so wrong but, "but, what if Sasuke-kun _is_ happy with what he's doing now? What if this is, I don't know…_good _for him?"

"Sakura-chan," he stood up, looking taken aback, "How?—How could you even_ say_ something like that? Sasuke…he doesn't know what he's doing. He thinks its right but…. I want him to realize how happy he could be back here with me…with you…."

"With me…? What do you mean?"

He sat back down, waving his hand at me embarrassed. "Its nothing, its nothing. It's just that…I remember how much you loved him back then, and you still do, right? And…he wants a family. He told me that once…."

"Naruto….I reached my hand out to place it on his. He looked up at me. "I don't think I feel that way about Sasuke-kun….Not anymore at least….Do you" I looked back down at the next question on the sheet, "do you ever think of how it would be to be with him again…and you relish that dream or feeling."

He smiled, I don't think he realized that he was still taking the quiz, but he nodded.

"And…and the thought of spending the rest of your life near him is not seen as being stuck with another person, but is considered to be a very wonderful idea."

He nodded again. "I will enjoy that. It may not start today. It may not start tomorrow. It may even be years until the we even _hear _of him again. But when we do find him, Sakura-chan, we'll keep him. And we'll never let him leave our side again."

I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. I kept going, hoping he wouldn't notice. "Even if there are other people who are more beautiful or attractive, you still choose to be with this person." I looked at him thinking he'd object to answering anything about the beauty of another guy, but he didn't seem to notice. "I mean, your commitment to him is so absolute, you have fully and undeniably decided to be with only him no matter what."

"Yeah, I told you—I _want _him to be with me. I want all my friends close to me, always and forever. I…can't be alone…not again…."

"You have been together for such a long time now… but you aren't bored of him yet? You can still feel the fire burning?"

"Because I'll always keep it burning."

"But that requires dedication and effort, right? You never get tired of it, not even a little?"

"It just means that a bond is still shared between us."

"A bond…. And you _desire_ to understand him more, don't you?" I was reaching the bottom of the quiz now, "Even at the biggest of arguments, you continue to communicate openly and do not harshly judge each other. You accept each other's faults and shortcomings."

"Ha!—If I judged him based on his coldness or ability to be a dick, the way he hates ramen, the way he never eats sweets, all of those inhuman and unnaturally jackass-ish traits of his…well, I wouldn't be chasing him, would I?"

"No," I stood up, "I guess you wouldn't."

He stood up to, "You goin' somewhere, Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah, I've gotta go back to the hospital. My breaks almost over," I started to walk away.

"I'll see you later, Sakura…."

"…I know."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, Sakura!" Ino waved me over to the reception desk. "So," she began, smiling mischievously when I approached her, "how did it go?"

"Not as I'd hoped, but exactly as I'd planned…."

Her smile dropped a little and she patted me on the back, "Its ok, Sakura. It doesn't always turn out the way we want it too." She started laughing, "hell, I gave the same lovers test to Sai and he couldn't even remember my name by the time we finished….You asked him all the questions, right? Did he think of you on any of them?"

"He did…but the other person's name would always follow right after. And, no—I didn't ask him _all_ the questions."

"Really? Why not! You may still have a chance!"

"No…" I could feel the smile pulling at the corners of my mouth, "I don't think so…."

_Is there a great deal of respect, admiration and trust you have for this person?Is it so deep that you can't explain it but, at the same time, you know he or she has earned it well._

"I know...it can't be me."

おわり

I got this idea after reading Quack says the T-shape's story "I don't like the damn brat". It involves Yuki answering one of those 25 question internet surveys on why men like women. Obviously, I wouldn't use the same survey (mine actually only had seven points that I broke down to make longer) so I looked one up online!


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